Nice Kinect Sports review, I was curious how a couple sports would work without the ability to hold something. Bowling sounds as bad as I imagined it however I never thought about moving your body in Table Tennis. Actually that confused me a bit in your review: why does table tennis pick up topspins but bowling didn't pick up spins very well?

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Originally Posted by GrantXP

After the few hours of fun and laughter and when the day playing with friends is over you will rarely play this.

This is the exact reason I haven't had interest in Kinect. It seems like right now all the titles for it have that same shallow design that is fun for Moms & Dads at parties but nothing you'd play yourself.

It's the way it picks it up. When you backspin you tend to swing down and Kinect gets it right almost every time. Topspin you brush up the back of the ball. I guess in bowling it is a more subtle wrist movement which Kinect doesn't seem to imterpret so well. Wii Sports/Wii Sports Resort bowling is a lot better. If you get Kinect this would be one of the games I would buy. But like Wii Sports its more an impressive tech demo than a great game.

I could make the balls spin some in bowling. I actually enjoyed it lots. Especially the side variant of bowling where you throw as many balls in a certain time limit to get a high score, and then realising you can use both arms at the same time yo windmill a billion balls down the lane. Way fun.

The Wii has changed the face of gaming quite possibly forever. Bringing gaming to the masses may not always satisfy the hardcore but it really sells. First we had Wii sports, then came Wii Fit and now we have the addon addition.

Firstly you already know if you will like this game. If your 20st, hate exercise and have no intention of starting now then this game may as well have a 1% review score. Also if you are looking to tank up like Arnie or already look a bit like him then this 'game' will prove pointless.

If however you are like me, someone who goes to the gym a bit. Focus' on weights, rarely stretches and lives with women this could be one of the best games ever! I will review this as an addon. So I will be breif on the contents of the original package. There are 4 categories: Yoga, muscle, cardio and games. In this addition everything starts unlocked if you owned Wii Fit which is great because one of the issues I had was friends that came to stay would be very limited by their options. The whole game is also more streamlined. You can now fast user switch during games which avoids having to sign in and out and can do a basic weight test easily. They have also added a calorie counter and METS rating for each item you select to isobars how difficult it is. In terms of brand new content you can tell Nintendo focused on the gamer than the fitness enthusiast. There are 2 new yoga poses and 2 muscle workouts and to be fair they are decent new exercises and no adaptations of the other exercises. They have also added a lot more 'Fitness test' games which stop the tests becoming repetitive and are actually quite fun to play. Cosmetically the game looks identical with the exception of a pre-defined personal training menu which suggests workouts for specific muscles which would be welcome for extreme novices to fitness but personally I did not touch. In terms of new additions I would have perhaps enjoyed a couple more trainers to break up the monotony of the voices I have herd for the last 2 years and perhaps a few more exercises! The main major addition is the host of new games available which really take advantage of the balance board peripheral. Let's face it the balance board has been neglected aside from a handful of games. New games range from obstacle courses to having to shake your ass from side to side matching what is on screen. There is also a hilarious chicken flying game that if anyone ever saw doing it through a window may call the local mental asylum. This is the main bulk of the Wii Fit additions and if you shelled put for the balance board and used it then it makes the Plus version a must buy at a budget price.

Scoring any game is a personal thing but with Wii Fit Plus it's even more so. In fact, I'd go as far as saying the score is almost 100% irrelevant.

Pros - Great selection of new games. Minor enhancements really streamline the process.Cons - Not enough additions to the Fitness part of the game. Personal training room is a pointless addon.

Afterburner Climax - Xbox Live ArcadeAlso available on Playstation Network

15 years ago Arcades were very different to today. Arcades were glimpses of the future. Sure the Saturn and Playstation were great home systems but nothing could match the quality of the arcades. Ridge Racer looked good on the Playstation and SEGA Rally is one of the all time classic console racing games but neither compared to their arcade counterparts. Fast forward 15 years and very few arcade games even come close to the might of the PS3 or 360. Which is the reason Afterburner may be the perfect XBLA/PSN game…

The arcades still contain a few games that we would love to see on consoles. Afterburner is one of those gems. But let's face it, games like Afterburner, HOTD and to an extent Virtua Fighter have no place on today's consoles compared to epic games like Mass Effect or Red Dead Redemption. You simply couldn't justify £40/$60 for this game. Yet put the game on Xbox Live at a budget price and all of that can be forgiven. Ok there is no moving pod to be thrown around in. But aside from the off screen cosmetics this is an arcade perfect conversion and I would happily throw 4 or 5 pounds through the arcade machine so to pay the same amount for the home version is a bargain.

The game lasts approximately 15 minutes but at least it’s a blast to play. As with all great arcade games it's easy to pick up and difficult to master but there isn't a lot of depth here. Shoot everything on screen, dodge a few mountains and move at breakneck speeds. The game is arguably one of the best looking on XBLA and visually could easily compete in today's retail marketplace. There are a few alternative routes that can be taken and for the console version SEGA have included a Score Attack mode and EX Option. These are options that unlock for achieving certain criteria in the game. This can be as basic as finishing the game to finishing the game with 2,000,000 points. The EX options can be highly entertaining and gives the game some replay value. Aside from grabbing the highest score possible there is little that will keep you coming back to Climax. Trying a few of the EX Options and obtaining the insanely easy 200 achievement points did make me play the game through 5 or 6 times but that was it. The game will now become a great demo for friends to have a quick blast on when they visit.

But let's look at it from another angle. I played the game through 5 times, each time using 4 continues. In the arcade that would have cost me £20! So for 800 MS points (400 during promo days) this game represents great value for money and just may be a way for arcade games that are not called Virtua Fighter or Time Crisis to exist on home consoles. Prior to this we had the watered down PSP version. I think it's great that arcade perfect translations of games of this calibre have found a new home. However, in saying that I feel more could have been done here... It's a nice touch that you can select the original Afterburner II music but the entire game as an unlockable extra would have been an awesome addition and not taken a lot of effort to do. Another aircraft with different properties to the 3 default crafts could have also added an interesting twist. Alas, an additional ending if you are Gods gift to Afterburner is all that exists aside the additional options.

So that's what Afterburner is. More welcome relief than epic headliner. You won't sit down for a lengthy Afterburner session. Instead this will be a game you will load up for a quick burn when time is limited or you need light relief from an epic Halo session. Gaming has changed, but its good news there is still room on next gem consoles for classic gameplay like Afterburner: Climax.

Pros - Smooth visuals. EX Options are fun to experiment with.Cons - Far too short. Limited long term replay value. Adding the original as unlockable would have done a lot for the nostalgia factor.

Back in 1996 as a proud Saturn owner and a big F1 fan it wasn’t Tomb Raider 2 or Resident Evil 2 that made me jealous of PS owners. I could get those on PC. It was F1 in all it's licensed beauty. It wasn't until F1 World Grand Prix on my N64 that I got my first sample of F1 gaming on console and it was everything the years of waiting could want. I didn't get another F1 game until EA sports F1 2002 on the Xbox and after this F1 fell into the wilderness with the exception of the dreadful PS3 launch title! Why was this? Well F1 is limited, you can only ever have a maximum of 24 cars and drivers and 19 tracks. The cars may be beautiful but you can't see them while you race and the tracks are on the whole sparse. The Forza's and Gran Turismo's of this world are the more complete package. It has meant we have waited 5 years for a truly next gem F1 game... And in my opinion it was worth the wait!

The creators of F1 2010 have put a lot of man hours into creating the cars and tracks in painstaking detail and recreating the simulation experience to the max whilst also making the game accessible to casual gamers. On easy mode with all assists on (except for auto break which is a hindrance) anyone can play and enjoy this game. On expert the first time I played the game I was racing in the rain and could barely get of the start line due to wheel spin and promptly spun into the first corner. Similarly the level of customisation to your car is extensive and F1 buffs can tweak their setups heavily or for people like me there are 7 preset setups to choose from if you want to have a say but not go too deep into the cars setup.

Visually the game is a masterpiece, the rain as it develops on the track mid race is particularly special and every track has been recreated to the highest detail. All the pit crews, trailers and menus have been crafted to make this the optimum F1 experience. Of course this would mean nothing if the game didn't play like a dream. Thankfully the game gets it right. F1 is about learning the tracks and practice makes perfect. The career mode lasts 7 years and yyou can partake in a long race weekend which is 3 practice sessions, a long qualifying and a half or full distance race or you can do a short race weekend which just has one practice, a short qualifying and a 20% distance race. Of course you can vary this by skipping practice and qualifying sessions but it is worth taking the time to practice to learn where your breaking points are. If you do a full distance race on expert settings the game is hyper realistic. In real F1 you cannot go full throttle the whole race as the cars are filled with less than enough fuel to complete the race, this is the same in F1 2010, hammer if or the whole race and you won't finish. Your pit crew will tell you when to ease off to preserve fuel. Slightly damage a wing and they will tell you to change your wing angle manually. There is a lot of attention to detail here. Sadly very few will play full races on expert meaning these subtleties could be missed. The other thing is the level of intensity Codemasters create in the gameplay. If you need a fast lap the playability is so perfect you can really take risks into corners, hit the curbs to shave vital milliseconds off your time and feel the car twitch like you may lose the backend. The cars also feel dramatically different depending on what setup you have. Put the grippy option tyres with a medium setup an you will feel like you cant spin the car but will be considerably slower on straights. Configure the car for maximum downforce and you will bullet along but really have to wrestle the car around corners. Each track it is about getting the blend just right. With this level of detail in mind it is baffling to me that so many potential gloss factors are missing! For example, at the end of a race if you finish in the top 3 you will have to carry out a press conference, I never felt that what I said in these or any of the interviews made the slightest bit of difference. Not only this but strangely they have not included a podium when you finish in the top 3. This seems bizarre as this is one of the trademarks of F1. This could be made really fun in future instalments if they included Kinect support for this sequence. It's just a thought. Similarly as I finish my last lap and take the chequered flag wouldn't it be great if you could actually see a man waving a flag and your pit crew celebrating madly. It's a minor touch that would really add polish and finish to the game.

Another gripe I have is with your pit crew’s communication. They encourage you when you are behind someone but they rarely let you know how far the guy behind you is. Instead you can see it in the top left of the screen for a split second at each sector in a lap. This takes something out of the game, sometimes when your pit crew are telling you to pit in it would be great to see how far behind you certain cars were so that you could consider staying out and etching out that extra second for track position after the stop. Other minor gripes are the fact that although this game by definition is limited it doesn’t use the license the way games like NBA 2K11 and even to an extent FIFA do. I think Codemasters missed an opportunity to use the licence. Updating loading screens with stats and showing the latest fixtures and news would have been awesome to make the sport more accessible to newcomers and what about a few classic cars. Senna's McLaren or Schumacher’s Ferrari or a scenario mode with some of the big moments through yesteryear in F1 or a few classic tracks that don't appear in the 2010 calendar? Or even a post race highlight reel...

I feel I am being over critical here and taking away from what a great racing game this is. Put simply it is a must have for F1 fans but there is plenty of room for work in future iterations. Codemasters have the core game here almost perfect and that alone makes this game worth the price tag. But there is certainly room for growth here in the next iteration. Recreating the glitz and glamour of F1 was never going to be a simple task but Codemasters have done a great job with the racing. I hope they listen to their fans for the 2011 edition. However as an F1 fan I am happy to say Codemasters have done a great job bringing the game to next gen consoles. Sure I can add features but I cannot fault the fun or gameplay and that's what you enjoy about games. Cannot wait to see the 2011 edition.

Back in 1994 I decided I would give NBA Jam a go. I didnt understand basketball at all. But the game had universal acclaim and arcade 2on2 gameplay. It immediately grabbed my attention. The use of licences and the attention to detail of the players was something never seen in a sports game... Various dreadful basketball games have come and gone since with the highlight for me being NBA 2K2 on the Dreamcast but as I'm not a die hard fan each year since then I would keep an eye out for an awesome NBA game and would be sorely disappointed!

Until now, I write this review as a gamer who knows little about basketball. Before playing this game I didn't know the rules. How the league worked or any players except for Kobe Bryant and Lebron James however this game is the perfect game to not just get you into Basketball games but make the sport more accessible in general! And Shaq O'Neill still plays basketball at a high level... What is he like 100 (astute gamers will remember Shaq Fu on the Mega Drive some 15 years ago!

When you first put the disc in you are immediately thrown in at the deep end playing with Michael Jordan’s Bulls against Magic Johnsons Orlando Magic! 99% of people in this game get destroyed! Its a real baptism of fire but if sets the standard of what's to come. Photo realistic visuals, incredible attention to detail with men who buffer the court (it's amusing to knock them over), mascots that moonwalk while you play and the most varied and vibrant crowd in a sports game I have seen. Add to this the gorgeous cheerleaders that I promos you'll watch at least once and the in game detail is staggering. Matched only by the level of game options you have. Firstly there is NBA Today mode! Where you can play any of the current games going on in the NBA. Play these and you will see secrets for the latest upcoming NBA games, live current season stats on all the teams and players. Not only this but the commented is the best commentary on a sports game... EVER! Not only is it fluid with analysis of players as they play. But when you switch the game on it will download additional commentary and where injured players are not available as the system updates injuries the commentators will actually comment on who is missing, how their injury will affect the game and how long they will be put for or even make references to the teams most recent outings, if the Heat played badly in the last game they will talk about it. The NBA Today mode sets new standards in the sports genre. Something EA should take note of with their sports games. On top of this there is an Association mode which let's players guide their chosen team all the way to the playoffs with the chance to meet Barak Obama if you are successful. A My Player mode similar to FIFA’s 'Be A Pro' mode as well as the ability to relive some of Michael Jordan’s famous magical moments and play as the great teams of yesteryear. Personally it was great to use Pippin, Kucoc and Armstrong in a simulation game having used them for the bulls in the magical NBA Jam TE all those years ago!

Playing alone is superb, the AI is spot on and the players are unforgiving. Each player controls slightly differently and you really feel it when you play and it affects the in game decisions you make. However, playing with friends this game really excels in every department. One friend remarked about how realistic the game looked and we were so mesmerised we didn't even skip the half time report or and of the time out sequences. Every game you play is a high octane event and with stick control your really feel every 3 point shot, lay up and slam dunk. Even for those people who knew nothing about basketball this game was surprisingly accessible and everyone was performing give & go's and ally oops in no time. Eventually isomotion moves will feel so intuitive and the satisfaction when you pull off a dunk or sink a 3 is unrivalled. There are a couple of niggles, the online mode is a little laggy and defending is a little controversial with many gamers complaining that you can let the computer do it for you. But here is the fun in that!

NBA 2K11 isn't just the best basketball sim. It's the best sports game I have played in a long time and arguably one of the best ever! Unless you have a serious aversion to sports games I cannot recommend this game highly enough. I honestly cannot think of a way to improve it, the presentation and detail are incredible and the game plays like a dream.